William Shakespeare Language, Vocabulary and Dictionary
William Shakespeare Dictionary
NAPKIN a handkerchief NATURAL an idiot NAYWARD towards denial NAYWORD a catch-word, by-word NEB the beak NEELD a needle NEIF hand NEPHEW a grandson NETHER-STOCKS stockings NEXT nearest NICE foolish NICK score or reckoning, to brand with folly
NIGHTED black as night NIGHT-RULE nightly solemnity NINE MEN'S MORRIS a place set apart for a Morris dance by nine men NINNY a fool, jester NOBILITY nobleness NOBLE a coin NODDY a dolt NOOK-SHOTTEN indented with bays and creeks NOURISH a nurse NOVUM a game at dice NOWL head NUTHOOK a hook for pulling down nuts, hence a thief
Interpreting Elizabethan / Shakespearean Manuscripts and Original Documents
Vital, but little known, information about the Elizabethan alphabet is essential when looking at copies of original manuscripts of the period - examples of which can be found in Shakespeare's ' First Folio '. Learning the alphabet used during the Elizabethan era will no doubt clarify many questions that the differences of the Tudor / Elizabethan alphabet have raised such as "Couldn't Elizabethans spell properly?" and "Why is there so much confusion with the letters 'u' and 'v' and 'i' and 'j' ?Shakespeare translations and understanding the real meanings behind some of the Shakespeare language in the great plays and sonnets can be difficult. And this is hardly surprising when the expressions and their meanings have been obsolete since the Elizabethan era!